Event Speakers

More About Dr. Eesa Al Bastaki

Dr. Eesa Al Bastaki

President of the University of Dubai.,

Bio:

Dr. Eesa Mohammed Bastaki is the President of the University of Dubai. Members of the University of Dubai (UD) community are elated to have Dr. Bastaki in this leadership role for the University, which was founded in 1997 by the Dubai Chamber.

Dr. Bastaki is the recipient of the highest award in the UAE, the “Emirates Excellence Award in Sciences, Literature and Arts”, in the field of Sciences. Dr. Bastaki’s extensive experience in education, leadership, technology and communications will prove a major asset in leading the university into its next progressive phase, which includes the building of a new campus and the addition of several programs, such as a Master of Laws degree and a Doctorate degree in Business Administration. Most recently, Dr. Bastaki worked as a professor at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) specializing in Communications Engineering. He also recently held positions as: CEO of ICT Fund; Director of Education, Training and Research and Development for Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO); Consultant and IT Project Manager for Al-Ain Municipality; and Chairman and Partner of Barajeel Engineering Consultants. He is one of the founders of DSO and RIT-Dubai. He is a member of 7 academic boards, Honorary Chair of IEEE, Chairman of Emirates Science Club, Board member of the Cultural and Scientific Association, Board member of KHDA’s UQAIB, Board member of Ankabut (UAE’s NREN) and many more.

During his time at UEAU, Dr. Bastaki chaired several technology and research boards - work which will surely enhance the University of Dubai’s recently-launched Master of Science in Information Systems Management program and UD’s continued efforts to provide research for local and regional companies.

Dr. Bastaki received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of California, San Diego and his Doctorate from University of California, Irvine, before returning to help improve the education and technology sectors in his homeland, the UAE. University of Dubai faculty, staff and students are gratified that a man of his accomplishments leads the university on its continuing path to provide the highest quality education in the region.

With a combined professional experiencespanning over 21 years Ahmad Tahlak has established himself distinctively as aleading strategist and expert in the Service Industry.

Ahmad Tahlak has pioneered Emirates AirlinesCall Center, a full-fledged operational call center almost 15 years ago whenthe local market was still unaware of the vast impact and efficiency thecontact center would generate. As a result of a brainchild that was broughtinto purpose and function, by establishing a world-class call center andcomprehensive CRM system his ambition, effort and management has won him CallCenter Manager of the Year award for two consecutive years in 2001 & 2002from ICCM in Chicago.

One with a strong vision and commitment toexcellence, he has founded The TeleServices Company in 2000 a specializedorganization focused on BPO, Contact Center Solutions and Consultancy whichcaters to a wide array of industries and organization. A recipient of the Entrepreneurof the Year, Best Consulting and Service Company awards in 2004, recognized andpresented by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Ministerof UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Ahmad Tahlak has been synonymous to the success inthe call center and customer service industry.

In 2005, he accepted the position in EmiratesMarketing and Promotions, a subsidiary of Emirates Post Group as the ChiefExecutive Officer. EMP's core business was to provide integrated, turnkeysolutions to direct marketing, Call Center & Customer Service outsourcing,and Promotions. It was also during his tenure that EMP unveiled range of innovative, 3D productsand Post Card promotions in the GCC, turning the agencyinto a profit center. At the helm of hisleadership, EMP garnered several recognitions set by the local andinternational groups including the Dubai Quality Award in 2008.

With unrivaled passion for change, uniqueunderstanding of the global market Ahmad Tahlak brought his superior,result-oriented Consulting experience, Contact Center expertise, CRM Intelligence,Strategy Formulation & Implementation concentration and ventured into co-founding LEVENBERTConsulting, a turnkey and implementations solutions provider, offering a wealthof ground-breaking strategies and excellence through sustainable change to awide array of industries serving the private and public sector. LEVENBERT isheadquartered in the UAE and operates across GCC.

Recognized by industry leaders and peers bothin the local and international market, Ahmad Tahlak is privileged to share hisextensive knowledge, expertise, cutting-edge solutions that drives optimalorganizational growth and success.

More About Dr. Usman Zafar

Dr. Usman Zafar

An accomplished Business Management and Technology Executive with an extensive experience in both private and public sector with successful track record in building, transforming and leading result oriented professional organization, leading complex programs & business change initiatives with full P&L responsibility. Held Executive level positions with major Blue-Chip & Fortune 500 Technology Corporations.

Dr Usman has been at the forefront of many of the region’s (MENA) multi millions $ IT projects and extensively recognized for his expertise in the areas of eGovernment, e - services, ERP, process automation, specialized training initiatives and Strategic IT Planning.

An integrity driven personality and performance-driven executive with proven success in developing e¬ective and pro table partnerships with business stakeholders in risk adverse environments, strong communication skills with a reputation for being a detail oriented, and creative solutions provider focused on doing the right thing, the right way.

As an Organized Strategist and Entrepreneurial team player, he has provided strategic leadership to fully own and manage Life Cycle of Business Management, introduced innovative solutions to global marketing, and improved contract/proposal management processes. It produced breakthrough results in technology growth, business pipeline, exponential increase in revenue, and great market rapport.

Dr Usman has participated actively in several regional and International conferences / workshops and exhibitions as a keynote speaker to talk about various topics, such as Leadership, Marketing, Corporate Branding, Image Building, eGovernment Barriers, Change Management, Business Process Management, Public Private Partnership, Social Media, Strategic Planning, and Communication/Presentation Skills.

Apart from serving Large Enterprises and Public Sector, Dr Usman has several years of experience in the education sector as a consultant and professor with renowned Universities and Corporate Training Centers Globally.

Dr Usman has received several awards in the past few years for his outstanding performance and delivering Complex projects both in public and private sectors.

More About Gert Botha

Gert Botha

Chief Executive Officer,Hiving Technology

Bio:
Gert is the CEO and one of the founders of Hiving Technology — a Dubai based company that developed an end to end Digital Trust Architecture. The architecture is underpinned by a unique Identity Centric Distributed Data Solution for people and objects, addressing all the limitations of current information technology models like security, privacy, data ownership, data integrity and more. During this development process, Gert rubbed shoulders with global experts in various aspects of a future connected world that includes IoT, Smart Cities, Identity, Distributed Data and Digital Trust.
Gert is a seasoned advisor and technology consultant with 25 years’ diverse experience in both Public and Private sector, various industries, and countries with specific focus on a single connected integrated world. He stays abreast of technology trends and consults with technology researchers, CIO's, CTO’s, & CEO's on technology strategy and how to use technology to innovate client service delivery. In his approach, he questions the ability of the current technology frameworks to scale to a connected world solution and point out that the technology challenges faced currently are due to the archaic framework that is still used as the foundation for new development. Instead, he introduces a new architecture framework that enables privacy, security, and digital trust. This poses major opportunities for Business and Governments alike to adjust by transforming business and service delivery models to take advantage of new technology.

Dr. Náder Alyani

More About Dr. Náder Alyani

Dr. Náder Alyani

Director,Bloomsbert

Bio:
Dr. Alyani is the executive director of German-based Bloomsbert Associates acting as a specialist counsel on strategic alignment and investment projects, with a current focus on emerging markets and challenges of the Gulf region. His career has spanned positions in the public and private sector and as an executive and advisor to MNCs (on FDIs, PPP, development of local content and lean transformation) developing learning interventions and implementing practical structures to support human capital and capability development for strategic alignment, risk mitigation and innovation. He has developed people and methods (including refinement and localising of Big 4 tools) as enablers of improvement, by utilising lean and Kaizen designs in practice, with high impact on KPIs. His previous project-engagement and -partners include London’s Crossrail (Learning Legacy) in large infrastucture; Microsoft and Adobe in the Health and Public sector; and Atos in the Technology sector; Statoil, Hydro, BP and Saudi Aramco within the Energy sector and a selection of niche technology start-ups at UCL, MIT and EIT; and with policy-designers and policy-implementation teams, within government entities in a number of different countries (including VRPs on skill webs and labour markets) and via the World Bank.

He is an associate and alumnus of LLAKES Centre (Centre for Research on Learning and Life Chances), University College London and a Fellow of Royal Geographical Society in London, UK, with a focus on economic geography of innovation. He remains engaged in human capital; industrial and sectoral policy challenges in, and related to the Gulf region, particularly Saudi Arabia, northern emirates of the UAE, Qatar and Iran in the last decade.

Dr. Ayoub Kazim

More About Dr. Ayoub Kazim

Dr. Ayoub Kazim

Managing Director,axs

Bio:

Dr. Ayoub Kazim

Managing Director, axs

Dr. Ayoub Kazim serves as the Managing Director for axs, TECOM Group’s smart gateway for integrated business services. He is responsible for leading a centralized government and corporate services department in the handling of over 200 government, employee and corporate services to partners across 11 of TECOM Group communities, and enhancing the ease of doing business for over 5,100 business partners and extending services to over 90,000 employees, dependents & students.

Dr. Ayoub Kazim was formerly Managing Director of Dubai Knowledge Park and Dubai International Academic City. In this role, he was responsible for strategically steering the academic entities and further consolidating their status as leading centres of learning excellence in the region.

With over 20 years of industry experience, he previously held leadership roles at UAE University and Dubai Municipality.

Dr Ayoub Kazim holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alabama and a Master’s from the Polytechnic Institute in New York University He received a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Miami in 1998.

12

Andreas Hadjioannou

More About Andreas Hadjioannou

Andreas Hadjioannou

Middle East Business Development and Sales Director,Virtual IT Consultants

Bio:

“Andreas Hadjioannou holds a BSc in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Toledo. He has more than 30 years’ experience in managing multiple and interrelated IT projects, involving innovative solutions and adaptability to new standards and techniques. He has worked in the Middle East in international companies such NCR and Pepsico, currently a Director of Virtual IT Consultants in UAE.

Andreas has been implementing Facilities Management (CAFM) Solutions since 2004 in different industry sectors and involved in Energy Management Sustainability platforms since 2015. He is a representative of the European Technical Committee for the EN15221 FM standard and the International Project Committee responsible for the ISO 55000 Asset Management standard.”

More About Mr.Nesar Khan

Mr.Nesar Khan

Managing Director ,FP Global Developments

Bio:

Nesar brings deep experience in the UAE and MENA region real estate business, with over 18 years hand-on experience in property sales and construction of developments. He has built major projects, such as the Al Fattan Marine Towers and World Trade Centre Residences. He has established and grown a major Dubai real estate agency and led the team that launched, marketed, managed and executed more than 60 prestigious projects worth over $5.4 billion in sales.

Nesar is deeply involved in shaping the UAE’s blockchain and cryptocurrency strategies and how they can be maximised in the real estate sector. He is often called upon to be a panel member as a real estate expert at major real estate conferences, including City Scape Global, 2017.

H.E Dr. Akima Umezawa

More About H.E Dr. Akima Umezawa

H.E Dr. Akima Umezawa

Consul-General of Japan in Dubai,

Bio:

Dr. Akima Umezawa started his term as the Consul-General of Japan in Dubai in 2017. He joined the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in1991, and in 2009 he was appointed the Head of Chancery to the Embassy of Japan in Singapore. Upon returning to MOFA in 2011, he served as the Director of Fisheries Division and the Cabinet Counsellor to the Ocean Policy Cabinet Secretariat, and in 2013 he was an Advisor to the Representative of the Government of Japan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He also served an international organization, the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, established by governments of Japan, China and Korea, as the Deputy Secretary-General in 2015-2017.

Dr. Akima Umezawa received a Master’s Degree (M.A.) in International Relations (1995) and a Master’s Diploma (M.Sc.) in Management of Information System (1996) from University of Leeds, England, and a Ph.D. Degree in Ocean Management from University of Tokyo in 1991. He has served as the APEC Project Overseer (APEC Project: Workshop on the Climate Impact on the Oceans and Fisheries Resources) in 2014-2015, and the Chair of Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) in 2012. He was awarded as a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (1989-1990). He also received the Plaque of Appreciation presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic Korea in 2017. He was a Visiting Professor of the Gujarat National Law University’s Public International Law in the International Maritime Academy in 2015-2016.

Major Publication:

UMEZAWA Akima, 2004, International order of maritime laws, Legal arrangement for the prevention and suppression of piracy in Asia, The Journal of international law and diplomacy, 103 (1), p107-125.

UMEZAWA Akima, 2005, International prospects over preparation of submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, Trends in the Science (Japan Science Support Foundation), p26-31.

More About Mr. Ahmed Qurram

Mr. Ahmed Qurram

Founder - CISO COUNCIL & CISOCONNECT ,

Bio:

Ahmed is an internationally recognized cybersecurity executive, Entrepreneur & prominent speaker, working in Information / Cybersecurity industry for almost 20 years as CISO (Chief Information Security Officer), Security Advisory & Strategist. Ahmed has a Master’s in Strategic Business IT (Portsmouth, UK) and has several global certifications to his credit, some of which are CRISC, CBCP, CISM, CISA, CISSP, ITIL, ISO 27001 / 20000, ISO 22301 and others. Ahmed Baig is also a Board Member at POLCYB (The Society for the Policing of Cyberspace) has previously been in security management role heading information / cyber security at various government, Semi Government and large conglomerates.

He’s also Chief Architect for CGMS (Corporate Governance Management System) and ITGMS (IT Governance Management System) frameworks covering Risk Management, IT Governance, Information / Cyber Security, and Business Continuity that has been successfully implemented in service providers and government entities in GCC also leading third party certification of international standards. He has been a key member of eSecurity domain within Interstandards (Web Security Standard) developed middle east region and also a working committee member at Online Trust Alliance (OTA).

Ahmed's key assignments also include implementation of various cybersecurity programs, standards to help organizations comply with industry regulations and government mandates.

Dr. David W. Kravitz

More About Dr. David W. Kravitz

Dr. David W. Kravitz

Vice President - Crypto Systems Research,DarkMatter

Bio:
David W. Kravitz, as Vice President of Crypto Systems Research, heads DarkMatter’s blockchain team that is focused on providing an IoT-compatible access-controlled transaction platform. His extensive information security experience spans a wide range of application areas, including voice- and data- critical infrastructure, digital rights management, payments, smart grid, IoT, and high-value assets transfer. He began his career at the National Security Agency, where as Senior Technical Advisor he “combined his exceptional skills in protocol and algorithm design with his evaluation capabilities to profoundly enhance the security posture of communications,” as stated in the Certificate of Achievement he was awarded by the Director of NSA. He has also held senior positions at Sandia National Laboratories, CertCo/Bankers Trust Electronic Commerce, Digital Video Express, Wave Systems Corp., Motorola Labs, Certicom Research/BlackBerry, and IBM Research. He was the principal architect of the Membership Services identity management framework of the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Fabric project for permissioned blockchain, and invented DSA, the elliptic curve variant of which, ECDSA, underlies Bitcoin and Ethereum. He serves as a Technical Advisor for CENTRI – Advanced Security for IoT, for Atonomi – The Secure Ledger of Things, and for AtCash – Paperless Cash for a Digital World, and as a Consultant for ‘Innovation in Cyber Security Award’ DESC-funded research on “Improved Blockchain Infrastructure with IoT for Critical/Smart Government Applications.” Dr. Kravitz holds a Ph.D. and Masters in Electrical Engineering - Systems from University of Southern California, a Masters in Mathematical Sciences from Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelors in Mathematics from Rutgers University.

Chris McAuley

More About Chris McAuley

Chris McAuley

Director, Fraud & Security Intelligence, EMEA & APAC ,SAS

Bio:
Chris has 25 years of experience in the Financial Services industry, and is a charted accountant with a background in software development. He has worked on client engagements in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and in North and South America.
Chris started his career in 1986 with Andersen Consulting, and lead their Financial Services practice in the Middle East from 1995 - 2000. In 2000 Chris left to co-found MA Partners, a specialist data analytics consultancy, and remained with the Firm until it was sold in 2008 to Detica P.L.C, a FTSE 250 company specializing in data analytics and risk management.
Chris joined SAS in 2010.
Chris enjoys the outdoors and is an experienced offshore sailor.

Muhammad Asif Abbasi

More About Muhammad Asif Abbasi

Muhammad Asif Abbasi

,Chief Architect, SAS

Bio:
Asif has worked in the industry for over 20 years, in a variety of roles from engineering data products & solutions to advising customers on the best approach to generate the business value from their investments in tools & technologies.
Asif is currently working with SAS Global Pre-Sales team as a Chief Architect in a role which focusses around helping customers by advising them about their analytical eco-system which involves SAS and other open-source tools. Asif has a cross-industry expertise and has advised some of the largest customers from Fortune 500 on their data strategy and analytical ecosystem.
Asif has presented at various conferences and delivered workshops on topics such as Big Data, Hadoop, Teradata, and Analytics using Aster on Teradata and Hadoop. Asif has worked with various startups and leading companies include Teradata and Cisco.
Asif also holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Business Administration.
Asif is author of the book Learning Spark 2.0.

Satyajit Dwivedi

More About Satyajit Dwivedi

Satyajit Dwivedi

Bio:
Satyajit has more than 24 years of Industry experience in Government, PSU, Energy & Utilities, Manufacturing, Transportation and Defense. He is focused in areas of Government Process Re-engineering, Business Performance Improvement with Analytics in Government, Internet of Things, Smart Cities & Smart Grids, Integrated Energy Forecasting & Trading, Asset Performance Improvement, and Establishing Fraud Framework for Reduction in AT&C losses.
Satyajit has rich experience in working with Apex Ministries - Energy, Power, Urban Development, Transport, Information Technology, Municipal and Urban Local Bodies, in conceptualizing & executing modernization programs for Process Restructuring initiatives Smart Programs, Horizontal Transfer initiative, In many utilities he has advised and implemented Energy Forecasting and Modelling, Asset Performance Modernization Revenue Assurance and Fraud Framework for and Non-Technical Loss. He has delivered Customer Intelligence programs for global companies and has also worked with International Development agencies such as World Bank, USTDA, USBIC, DFID and has successfully executed one of the largest nation-wide analytics capacity building program for 151 Universities and Research Institutions funded by World Bank.
Satyajit has been associated in design and development of analytics center of excellence for the government, energy and utilities sector. He has been instrumental in create new PPP programs in IT Modernization for the government in multiple countries. Satyajit has executed large scale multi-billion dollar greenfield power projects involving erection, testing and commissioning of Double High Tension Lines, Substations & Control Rooms, PLC, SCADA and GIS systems.
Starting his career in a power plant as maintenance engineer, 14 years in SAS, has established various practices and competencies in Oil & Gas, Utilities, Manufacturing, Government and Defence. Currently, Satyajit is driving the design and development of Analytics for IoT platform for Connected Vehicle, Connected Factory targeted for achieving Asset Performance Improvement and Production Quality Improvement.
He is a thought leader and has represented SAS in World Economic Forum, World Smart Grid, IoT Events, Energy Summits and Maintenance / Reliability Congress. He is invited as speaker for leadership talks in leading Business / Technology Schools. He is an Electrical Engineer and a dual (Finance/Systems) major Management Graduate. He is member of IEEE, GARP and ISWM.

Fadwa Mohanna

More About Fadwa Mohanna

Fadwa Mohanna

CEO,miCity

Bio:

Fadwa Mohanna Bio:

Entrepreneur FADWA MOHANNA is the founder of micity, an Identity-as-a-Service leading provider, that addresses the citizens’ concerns of privacy and efficiency in their routine interactions with government entities and large corporations and makes them cost-efficient, seamless, highly secure and enjoyable by harnessing the powers of the latest technologies including biometrics, IoT, AI and Blockchain. Micity is the company behind multiple innovations such as the Smart Concierge and the Smart Tunnel launched in 2017.

A Computer & Telecom Engineer by training, Fadwa holds an MBA from ESA. She was key in launching large telecom operations in various countries such as Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates and has an extensive experience in building large networks using the latest technologies. She is highly active in the Women’s Entrepreneurs Community where the topics of AI, Data Analytics and Blockchain are high on the agenda.

Daragh O’Byrne

More About Daragh O’Byrne

Daragh O’Byrne

Daragh O’Byrne is the Vice President, Global Head of Marketing & Alliances for Nucleus Software, where he is responsible for driving business transformation through integrated and strategic marketing initiatives.

He brings over 20 years’ experience in the software sector. Daragh’s key focus area has been ensuring that software provides tangible business benefits for customers and that these benefits are explained in a clear, concise and compelling way. His expertise lies in using an integrated set of creative marketing activities that generate high decibel results. His industry experience and in-depth understanding of technology drives his passion to ensure that value is delivered to the customers.

Prior to joining Nucleus Software, Daragh held various senior leadership positions in leading technology companies like Misys and BPC Banking Technologies. At BPC he was the Chief Marketing Officer where he was responsible for the global go-to-market strategy, including brand management, market awareness, demand generation and partnership management. With his deep understanding of the industry and technical expertise, he helps financial institutions get the maximum return on their investments in mission critical Information Technology systems.

Daragh has a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Computing from Waterford Institute of Technology.

Brett Preston

More About Brett Preston

Brett Preston

Brett has over 25 years’ experience that includes operations, business management & consultancy roles with special interests in behavioural & performance psychology. Brett has won more than a dozen international awards for innovation and excellence in Learning, Talent & Organisational Development. Companies he has worked with include Toyota. IKEA, NIKE, Johnson & Johnson, Al-Futtaim & MAF Groups to name but a few.

The area of science of talent development combined with a business need to increase people, team & organisational performance requires a pragmatic, analytical set of models and methods that continuously require customisation. Over the years Brett has collected a Practitioners “Tool Kit” for consulting & executing organisational capability initiatives that enable performance to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

Educational & Professional Qualifications Include:

Master of Management (University of Southern Queensland)

License Corporate Coach (Corporate Coach University Colorado US)

Post Grad HR the College of Applied Psychology

Professional Acknowledgements

Winner of the US Talent Professional Association; “Talent Innovation Award” for 2011

Certified Multipliers Leadership facilitator

Certified facilitator of the Experience Change simulation technology

NLP qualified

Ahmed Matar Al Mheiri

More About Ahmed Matar Al Mheiri

Ahmed Matar Al Mheiri

Executive Director of Government Services,axs

Bio:

Ahmed Matar Al Mheiri is the Executive Director of Commercial Operations at axs, a smart integrated business service platform, launched by TECOM Group and Dubai Creative Clusters Authority (DCCA), providing over 200 government and corporate services to members of TECOM Business Parks.

Al Mheiri carries more than 18 years of executive experience. Prior to his current position, as the Executive Director of Business Development and Property Management of Twofour54 , where he played a pivotal role in extensively expanding the client base and optimising efficiency.

In earlier roles, Al Mheiri held the positions of Business Development Senior Manager at the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), as well as the Regional Manager for the MENA region at Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) where he received accolades for the best customer satisfaction.

Ahmed Matar Al Mheiri holds a Bachelor of Business Management from the University of Dubai.

Abdulla Almohaisin

More About Abdulla Almohaisin

Abdulla Almohaisin

Executive Director – Corporate Services,axs

Bio:

Abdulla Almohaisin is the Executive Director for Corporate Services at axs, TECOM Group’s smart integrated business service platform. In his capacity, Abdullah Almohaisin oversees the corporate services offerings which are part of the over 200 services provided by axs, catering to over 5400 business partners across TECOM Group’s 13 Business Parks.

Previously, Abdulla held several roles in TECOM Group, including Director of Business Development for TECOM Media Clusters (Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and International Media Production Zone), in addition to roles with Dubai Media City as Senior Business Development Manager and Partner Relations Manager.

Abdulla holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

H.E Basheer Khalfan Al Mehairbi

More About H.E Basheer Khalfan Al Mehairbi

H.E Basheer Khalfan Al Mehairbi

Executive Director of Support Services,Abu Dhabi Housing Authority

Bio:

In his position as the Executive Director of Support Services, Basheer Khalfan Al-Mehairbi supports ADHA's Division’s plans and projects by providing a wide spectrum of services across the functions of human resources, procurement and general services, IT and finance. He also oversees the implementation of the support services annual plans, and ensures that the budget is prepared based on the yearly needs and Abu Dhabi Government requirements.

Prior to joining ADHA, Al Mehairbi was the Information Technology Director at HAAD and Deputy CIO at SEHA. He was responsible for a milestone project, which aimed at implementing a system to create unified electronic medical records for patients. The system helps reduce medical mistakes, maintain medication safety, and decrease operational costs. In addition, he worked on the implementation of Oracle eBusiness suite of ERP applications, and Anthem's Business Intelligence applications to support decision making process in health facilities. Furthermore, Al Mehairbi prepared an IT strategic plan for the management of IT projects in accordance with the international standards from Gartner's technology research.

H.E Mr. Basheer holds a higher diploma on (MIS) from HCT, and a Bachelor degree in International Business, and hold Master degree in an International of Finance and prepare for DBA on Artificial Intelligent from Swiss Business School . Mr. Basheer certified on Microsoft System Engineer (MSCE) and E-Commerce Certified (CIW), PMP, CGEIT and is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) as well as ISACA.

Al Mehairbi is a best candidate of top 3 short list for ADAEP for “ Technology Innovation “ for “ Electronic Patient Record “ (2008).

Al Mehairbi is a recipient of ADSIC of Effort and Governance Team Award (2008).

Al Mehairbi is an executive member of ABUDHABI DIGITLIZATION COMMITTEE for Emirates of AD “ 2017 “.

Al Mehairbi got a winner on ADAEP “ ABUDHABI AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE “ for Best Common Service for eHouse ecosystem ( 2018 ).

More About Mr. Dieter Hovorka

Mr. Dieter Hovorka

Bio:
Dieter Hovorka is a creative Marketing and Solution Consultant with over +20 years industry experience working for multi international organizations to develop whole enterprise IT strategy, business process optimization, engineering projects and customer communication solutions with integration into digital and social media marketing initiatives.
Starting his carrier as a software developer in the gambling industry he quickly developed his business skills to succeed in fast growing markets by delivering business goal driven solutions which go beyond technology. Innovation and creativity allowed him to develop his knowledge across many markets, economies and technologies and in following companies into logistics, retail, manufacturing, services and multi lingual back office solutions.
As a senior Dieter was working over five years as the Global Information Technology Officer for Artesyn Technologies Inc., an U.S. based electronic manufacture across four continents implementing communication and information technology infrastructure projects, driving global initiatives for knowledge management and information centric solutions like ERP, CRM, IMMS and MRP. During his engagement he had to ability to develop creative solutions for complete new manufacturing standards and data exchange between manufacture, supplier and customer. He was driving also the implementation of ISO9000 and many government safety standards special in the Asian operations.
After he was holding multiply management positions, as CEO, Marketing Manager, Sales Manager, Quality & Product Manager, in a couple of start-up companies across Europe, which developed a complete web based business process management suite, a content transformation solution, a web based marketing solution, a multi-channel output management solution. During this period he was invited in as guest speaker in many forums across Europe and North America to share his experience and knowledge.
Dieter was establishing the Adobe Systems regional sales in Austria as Technical Pre-Sales Lead where he quickly contributed in many innovations for the product management for Adobe’s enterprise solutions, reforming the digital signature initiative and mobile initiative.
Three years later Dieter moved for Adobe to the Middle East as Technical Manager, building Enterprise Solution sales and partner network and helping deployment of electronic forms solutions, web experience management, customer experience management and content centric solutions for eGoverment and commercial sector companies across the GCC.
Recently Dieter launched a digital agency Skillz Middle East in Dubai, developing the transformation of knowledge management across information channels including social networks and building for company’s digital and social marketing strategies across Middle East and Africa.
In his free time Dieter is passionate into scuba diving, beach sports, traveling and enjoying good food and cigars.
Dieter graduated from the Higher Technical Institute in Moedling Austria in communication technologies.

With a combined professional experiencespanning over 21 years Ahmad Tahlak has established himself distinctively as aleading strategist and expert in the Service Industry.

Ahmad Tahlak has pioneered Emirates AirlinesCall Center, a full-fledged operational call center almost 15 years ago whenthe local market was still unaware of the vast impact and efficiency thecontact center would generate. As a result of a brainchild that was broughtinto purpose and function, by establishing a world-class call center andcomprehensive CRM system his ambition, effort and management has won him CallCenter Manager of the Year award for two consecutive years in 2001 & 2002from ICCM in Chicago.

One with a strong vision and commitment toexcellence, he has founded The TeleServices Company in 2000 a specializedorganization focused on BPO, Contact Center Solutions and Consultancy whichcaters to a wide array of industries and organization. A recipient of the Entrepreneurof the Year, Best Consulting and Service Company awards in 2004, recognized andpresented by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Ministerof UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Ahmad Tahlak has been synonymous to the success inthe call center and customer service industry.

In 2005, he accepted the position in EmiratesMarketing and Promotions, a subsidiary of Emirates Post Group as the ChiefExecutive Officer. EMP's core business was to provide integrated, turnkeysolutions to direct marketing, Call Center & Customer Service outsourcing,and Promotions. It was also during his tenure that EMP unveiled range of innovative, 3D productsand Post Card promotions in the GCC, turning the agencyinto a profit center. At the helm of hisleadership, EMP garnered several recognitions set by the local andinternational groups including the Dubai Quality Award in 2008.

With unrivaled passion for change, uniqueunderstanding of the global market Ahmad Tahlak brought his superior,result-oriented Consulting experience, Contact Center expertise, CRM Intelligence,Strategy Formulation & Implementation concentration and ventured into co-founding LEVENBERTConsulting, a turnkey and implementations solutions provider, offering a wealthof ground-breaking strategies and excellence through sustainable change to awide array of industries serving the private and public sector. LEVENBERT isheadquartered in the UAE and operates across GCC.

Recognized by industry leaders and peers bothin the local and international market, Ahmad Tahlak is privileged to share hisextensive knowledge, expertise, cutting-edge solutions that drives optimalorganizational growth and success.

Dr. Usman Zafar

More About Dr. Usman Zafar

Dr. Usman Zafar

An accomplished Business Management and Technology Executive with an extensive experience in both private and public sector with successful track record in building, transforming and leading result oriented professional organization, leading complex programs & business change initiatives with full P&L responsibility. Held Executive level positions with major Blue-Chip & Fortune 500 Technology Corporations.

Dr Usman has been at the forefront of many of the region’s (MENA) multi millions $ IT projects and extensively recognized for his expertise in the areas of eGovernment, e - services, ERP, process automation, specialized training initiatives and Strategic IT Planning.

An integrity driven personality and performance-driven executive with proven success in developing e¬ective and pro table partnerships with business stakeholders in risk adverse environments, strong communication skills with a reputation for being a detail oriented, and creative solutions provider focused on doing the right thing, the right way.

As an Organized Strategist and Entrepreneurial team player, he has provided strategic leadership to fully own and manage Life Cycle of Business Management, introduced innovative solutions to global marketing, and improved contract/proposal management processes. It produced breakthrough results in technology growth, business pipeline, exponential increase in revenue, and great market rapport.

Dr Usman has participated actively in several regional and International conferences / workshops and exhibitions as a keynote speaker to talk about various topics, such as Leadership, Marketing, Corporate Branding, Image Building, eGovernment Barriers, Change Management, Business Process Management, Public Private Partnership, Social Media, Strategic Planning, and Communication/Presentation Skills.

Apart from serving Large Enterprises and Public Sector, Dr Usman has several years of experience in the education sector as a consultant and professor with renowned Universities and Corporate Training Centers Globally.

Dr Usman has received several awards in the past few years for his outstanding performance and delivering Complex projects both in public and private sectors.

12

Dr. Anna Dolidze

More About Dr. Anna Dolidze

Dr. Anna Dolidze

Parliamentary State Secretary, Republic of Georgia

Bio:
Dr. Anna Dolidze was born in Tbilisi, in what was then the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia. As a child, she experienced the dissolution of the Soviet Union, including a civil war and secessionist conflicts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In high school Dolidze won a scholarship to live with an American family and attend high school in Vermont. Upon her return, Dolidze started law school at Tbilisi State University, where she graduated with honors.

In her final year she took part in the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition, and was honored as the Best Respondent and Best Oralist. She became a clerk at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. Thereafter Dolidze worked for the international humanitarian organization Save the Children in Georgia. She was awarded a full fellowship by the Dutch government to study at Leiden University where she earned Masters Degree in International Law (LLM). In 2004 Dolidze was elected Chairperson of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA). As the head of the largest legal advocacy organization in Georgia, she oversaw program activities conducted by 125 lawyers, took part in drafting legislative reform proposals, practiced civil rights litigation and represented the organization in National Constitutional Commission, Commission for the Human Rights in Prisons and the Expert Commission for Georgia’s European Integration. In 2006, Dolidze spearheaded a nation-wide campaign to prosecute high-level government security officials implicated in the murder of Sandro Girgvliani. In 2007 Dolidze left Georgia for United States as a Scholar at Risk because it was increasingly difficult to practice civil rights litigation.

Dolidze has lectured transnationally, including at Duke University, Sorbonne University, University of Berkeley, Cambridge and Oxford Universities, Queens University of Belfast and Elmira Maximum Security Correctional Facility in New York State. She conducted human rights documentation and research for Russia Justice Initiative and Human Rights Watch. Then she earned her Doctorate in Law (SJD) at Cornell Law School with full financial scholarship and residential fellowship at Telluride House. In 2012 Dolidze addressed the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress on human rights violations in Georgia. In 2013 she became assistant professor of law at the University of Western Ontario, where she taught property law and international law.

In May 2015 Dolidze was appointed as Deputy Minister of Defence for Republic of Georgia, overseeing the areas of education, social benefits and rehabilitation of wounded warriors. In June 2016 the President of Georgia appointed Dr. Dolidze as the Parliamentary Secretary of the President of Georgia (i.e. chief legal adviser), overseeing rule of law related issues as well as serving as the main liaison between the office of the President and the Parliament of Georgia.

Dr. Dolidze has published widely on international law, human rights and transitional justice in academic as well as policy journals.

More About Fahd Ali Zahid

Fahd Ali Zahid

Bio:
IT Enthusiast, Failed Entrepreneur, Security Devotee and after spending 10+ years in both Business and Technology domains I have a unique preceptive on the digital revolution and its impact on the business world. In my 5+ years in Dubai I have first hand experience of how the IT industry has enabled rapid growth, unique business models and global collaboration.

Dr. Náder Alyani

More About Dr. Náder Alyani

Dr. Náder Alyani

Director,Bloomsbert

Bio:
Dr. Alyani is the executive director of German-based Bloomsbert Associates acting as a specialist counsel on strategic alignment and investment projects, with a current focus on emerging markets and challenges of the Gulf region. His career has spanned positions in the public and private sector and as an executive and advisor to MNCs (on FDIs, PPP, development of local content and lean transformation) developing learning interventions and implementing practical structures to support human capital and capability development for strategic alignment, risk mitigation and innovation. He has developed people and methods (including refinement and localising of Big 4 tools) as enablers of improvement, by utilising lean and Kaizen designs in practice, with high impact on KPIs. His previous project-engagement and -partners include London’s Crossrail (Learning Legacy) in large infrastucture; Microsoft and Adobe in the Health and Public sector; and Atos in the Technology sector; Statoil, Hydro, BP and Saudi Aramco within the Energy sector and a selection of niche technology start-ups at UCL, MIT and EIT; and with policy-designers and policy-implementation teams, within government entities in a number of different countries (including VRPs on skill webs and labour markets) and via the World Bank.

He is an associate and alumnus of LLAKES Centre (Centre for Research on Learning and Life Chances), University College London and a Fellow of Royal Geographical Society in London, UK, with a focus on economic geography of innovation. He remains engaged in human capital; industrial and sectoral policy challenges in, and related to the Gulf region, particularly Saudi Arabia, northern emirates of the UAE, Qatar and Iran in the last decade.

Dr. Ayoub Kazim

More About Dr. Ayoub Kazim

Dr. Ayoub Kazim

Managing Director,axs

Bio:

Dr. Ayoub Kazim

Managing Director, axs

Dr. Ayoub Kazim serves as the Managing Director for axs, TECOM Group’s smart gateway for integrated business services. He is responsible for leading a centralized government and corporate services department in the handling of over 200 government, employee and corporate services to partners across 11 of TECOM Group communities, and enhancing the ease of doing business for over 5,100 business partners and extending services to over 90,000 employees, dependents & students.

Dr. Ayoub Kazim was formerly Managing Director of Dubai Knowledge Park and Dubai International Academic City. In this role, he was responsible for strategically steering the academic entities and further consolidating their status as leading centres of learning excellence in the region.

With over 20 years of industry experience, he previously held leadership roles at UAE University and Dubai Municipality.

Dr Ayoub Kazim holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alabama and a Master’s from the Polytechnic Institute in New York University He received a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Miami in 1998.

12

Bilal M. Husain

More About Bilal M. Husain

Bilal M. Husain

Founder and CEO, Digital Transformation LLC,

Bio:
After holding different public sector positions, Bilal have moved back to his entrepreneurial spirit and founded a new startup Digital Transformation LLC, focusing on blockchain and cybersecurity. Now fully dedicated in this line of work and working with wide network of leaders to explore the applications of blockchain for both public and private industries as well as lobbying for any potential legislative and policies that might require to be amended or created.

While at the Ministry of Economy and Planning, Bilal worked as an Advisor for the Minister as well as managing multiple operational roles. He was the first acting Deputy Minister for Shared Services at MEP, a newly developing concept at public sector for combining much of back office services into a single unit. Shared Services consisted of Finance and Admin, HR, IT, PMO and General Services.

Bilal was an active member of many internal and external committees, to name a few:

- Bureau of Experts at the Council of Minister, member of many committees discussing legislative reform of areas like review of government procurement system, drafting of Freedom of Information Act, drafting privacy of information act, review of general audit bureau's report...etc. - National Shared Services Committee, to discuss establishment of a multi organization shared services unit/entity for the public sector.

Prior joining MEP, Bilal worked as an Advisor to the Minister and Head of Internal Audit and Inventory Control at Ministry of Health (MoH) where he lead a major organizational restructure to provide empowerment and indecency to those critical functions.

On Jan 2013, Bilal was appointed as Director General of Internal Audit (Chief Audit Executive) at Ministry of Labor, Saudi Arabia. He was responsible for creating the Internal Audit function within the Ministry of Labor from scratch and make sure it’s aligned with the auditing and governance Bilal M. Husain
Founder and CEO Digital Transformation LLC organizations in the country taking into consideration the best practices and guidelines of the Internal Audit Institute (IIA).

In the past, he represented the Saudi eGovernment Program (Yesser) at all government agencies that are offered a wide spectrum of services to citizens, businesses and other government agencies. Yesser, a Saudi government initiative, was established in 2005 by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance and the Communication and Information Technology Commission to facilitate the provision of government services and transactions within Saudi Arabia electronically.

Bilal advised and guided agencies toward providing their services via electronic means. He was also involved in evaluating and approving funding requests proposed by various government agencies to support their eTansformation projects, as well as discussing and consulting with public agencies regarding their master IT and eGovernment action plans and strategies. Bilal was a key member in all steering committees for public agencies implementing eGovernment projects.

Bilal is a seasoned, senior-level consultant and advisor who can develop wining strategies and provide the necessary thrust required to produce clear and measurable results. He embraces the tremendous challenges his position brings, particularly in implementing IS management, obtaining sufficient and relevant resources, communicating and collaborating internally and externally, and overseeing change management.

Bilal has expertise in many areas, including strategy, organizational behavior, business development, corporate relations, technical development, BPM/BPR and knowledge management. His distinguished career portfolio includes the past positions of ICT consultant for King Fahd Medical City, vice president of operations for iLink Ltd., business consultant with British Telecom SA, and ICT consultant for the Supreme Counsel for Petroleum and Mineral Affairs.

Andreas Hadjioannou

More About Andreas Hadjioannou

Andreas Hadjioannou

Middle East Business Development and Sales Director,Virtual IT Consultants

Bio:

“Andreas Hadjioannou holds a BSc in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Toledo. He has more than 30 years’ experience in managing multiple and interrelated IT projects, involving innovative solutions and adaptability to new standards and techniques. He has worked in the Middle East in international companies such NCR and Pepsico, currently a Director of Virtual IT Consultants in UAE.

Andreas has been implementing Facilities Management (CAFM) Solutions since 2004 in different industry sectors and involved in Energy Management Sustainability platforms since 2015. He is a representative of the European Technical Committee for the EN15221 FM standard and the International Project Committee responsible for the ISO 55000 Asset Management standard.”

Dr. Ayad Aldaijy

More About Dr. Ayad Aldaijy

Dr. Ayad Aldaijy

Dr. Ayad Aldaijy joined the Ministry of Environment, Water & Agriculture as Chief Information Officer (CIO) in September 2015, bringing a wealth of experience of 27 years, working in government and global organizations, managing and delivering mission critical systems. In this new role, Dr. Aldaijy plays a key role in the continued development of the Ministry, serving as an integral and strategic member of its senior management team, and is primarily responsible for the management of the Ministry’s present and future information technology services position, and building a strong and capable team to support the Ministry’s business and operations. He led and engaged with Strategic Planning, Organizational Integration: Mergers and Acquisitions, Digital Transformation, Cyber Security, Consulting, Drive Smarter Technology, Big Data, IoT, PMO, Change Management, ERP implementation, Research and Analysis, and Organizational Performance Improvement.

Previously, Dr. Aldaijy has held a number of managerial positions in Saudi Arabian Royal Guard and Ministry of Defense, including of CIO position at Saudi Arabian Royal Guard. He started his professional career with Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) in June 1990, where he engaged and led a number of critical IT projects for major organizations in RSAF and Ministry of Defense.

Dr. Aldaijy received the PhD degree in information technology from George Mason University, Virginia, USA, in 2003. He received his B.S and M.S. degrees in information systems from George Washington University, Washington D.C., in 1988 and 1990 consecutively.

Mr.Andreas Huber

More About Mr.Andreas Huber

Mr.Andreas Huber

Co-Founder and Managing Director,PublicOne and TDA Trusted Data Analytics in partnership with TerraFirma

Member of the Board of Directors and General Supervisor of Business Development and Information Technology and Executive Director of the Tunis Branch CEO of Daleelteq Tunisia Branch since 1996, Mohamed Drira is a graduate of German university where he conducted researches on Business Processes Management (BPM) early in 1990, with the emergence of the collaborative work and groupware software. He introduced BPM and open source technologies in Tunisia and several African countries like Mali and Senegal. As an expert in Management Information Systems for 25 years and BPM and Cloud strategies consultant, Mohamed Drira believes that the future of Information Technologies in Arab countries must rely on open source technologies to control security and acquire the knowledge to get independent from the dominance of the current technology main actors and become a stakeholder in building the technologies instead of being a simple consumer.

1995-97: published Pakistan’s First English Scientific Magazine. This was distributed nationwide in Pakistan.

Youngest Member of Karachi Chamber of Commerce

Currently CEO at Cinch Group of Companies, the group has the following experience

Experience

1) Technology – 22 years’ experience

2) Investments – 9 years

3) Brand Media and Marketing – 9 years

4) Business and Technology Consulting – 7 years

5) Call centre – 5 years

6) Business Automation – 9 years

London and Global Business Background

Entrepreneur at heart, Faisal has been involved with helping and setting up businesses for almost a decade. Having run a successful Property Investment company he has now ventured into Creative Technology. During his ventures he realised the inadequate use of technology among organisations. He was inspired and decided to do something about it. Cinch Technologies was formed. Shakera Alam, wife of Faisal, also comes from technology background. After studying Computer Science from University of London she helped co-found Cinch Technologies.

Faisal successfully ran a property investment company for 9 years that actually stood test of time and grew during credit crunch and longest UK recession.

Today he passionately passes on the inspiration that motivated him years ago. Cinch Technologies has been helping organisations to understand technology and how the use of unified systems can impact productivity. The company prides on promulgating “good positive technology” in order to bring ethical and responsible products into our lives.

In 2017 Faisal is excited to launch his new venture ‘Business Pronto’ which can be classified as World’s First of its kind ‘business entrepreneurship platform’. The platform is aimed to assist and help 1200 types of businesses and entrepreneurs achieve success.

His other business exposure includes running Call Centres, Media and Marketing Agency, Business Process Outsourcing and E-Commerce. He is passionate about helping failing business and turning businesses around for hyper growth and does high end consulting. Apart from personal ventures Faisal has helped a lot of young and mature businesses with market positioning, expansion, pricing strategy, recruitment strategy, upscaling, downscaling, business growth automation, client engagement, team collaboration, inspirational selling, negotiations and barters, managing remote teams, leadership, recession proofing and cybersecurity.

What motivates Faisal today, is to help create livelihood for people, to empower them towards self-sustenance for them to earn their living with grace.

Member of:

Federation of Small Businesses UK

Muslim Association of Croydon

London Export Club

London Business Consultants and Events

Member Startup Venture and various chamber of commerce

UK and European Government Associations

European Enterprise Network (EEN)

Going Global

United Kingdom Trade and Industry (UKTI) now called DIT

Jules El Adem

More About Jules El Adem

Jules El Adem

Commercial Manager,SUEZ Middle East Recycling

Bio:

Jules El Adem is the Commercial Manager of SUEZ Middle East Recycling, the UAE arm of SUEZ

for Recycling and Waste Recovery. He is responsible for leading, developing and directing all

sales, restructuring as well as supply chain integration and optimisation.

Previously, Jules was active in the maritime service industry where he held several positions

connecting him to all the industry stakeholders.

Jules is fluent in English, French and Arabic; he is a graduate of Haigazian University in Beirut

earning a BSc in Computer Science and an MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance from the Cass

Business School of City University in London. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered

Shipbrokers and the Project Management Institute

Clinton O’ Leary

More About Clinton O’ Leary

Clinton O’ Leary

Business Development Director at Yvolv,

Bio:
Clinton O’ Leary, is the Business Development Director at Yvolv, a JV company between Meraas and Alibaba. He has over 9 years experience in the Middle East in helping customers and partners build and sell Cloud, Big Data and Digitization Solutions. Passionate about all things Digital he has a stellar reputation in the region in advising large Enterprise and Service Providers on how to build their Cloud Platforms and Services using the most open, secure and standardized software available today.

In his 20+ years experience in the IT industry he has represented many large global IT organizations such as Internet Solutions (Dimension Data), Dell, Microsoft, Citrix, Red Hat, Cisco and most recently Canonical as a start-up business development consultant.

12

Elizabeth Adeshina

More About Elizabeth Adeshina

Elizabeth Adeshina

Founder & CEO ,Integrated Digital Healthcare System Ltd

Bio:

Elizabeth is a dynamic and passionate member of the healthcare profession with a highly creative and entrepreneurial mind who is able to utilise opportunity to create successful ventures. Shehas a career which spans over 20 successful years of business and the healthcare sector including several high profile organisations like the NHS, Nuffield Group, BMI Group

Her contributions to healthcare and the business world both in the UK and across West Africa speak of her passion. She has successfully built three businesses from scratch and sold them for considerable profit. Her deep understanding ensures that she attains her goal of leaving a positive foot print.

Her management expertise is very much sought after across the healthcare sectors in the UK and various African Countries where she regularly makes time to consult for Private and Public organisations including the NHS, hospitals and pharmacies.

In 2007, driven by a deep passion to bring high quality affordable Pharmaceutical Products and healthcare Services to the people of Africa and in an attempt to address the sub-standard drugs which pervaded Nigeria, Elizabeth set up Medek Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare which continues to supply high quality drugs and medical equipment to many in Africa.

While involved in various health projects in sub-Saharan Africa, in some cases in partnership with the UN, it became painfully clear to Elizabeth that access to and the quality of healthcare as well as costs were huge barriers to health. Her creative health focused solution was borne in the IDHS.Healthwise platform which she believes would give a more seamless and affordable access to millions if not all in Africa and MENA at the very least.

IDHS.Healthwise is a digital healthcare platform which aims to bridge several gaps in the delivery of care to users across Africa, Europe and MENA including access to medical professionals, support in managing chronic medical conditions, pregnancy and data harnessing which would better help Governments provide targeted care with their resources.

Elizabeth has earned degrees from London University’s prestigious Kings College and Portsmouth University.

She regularly makes time to give back of her knowledge by training and motivating others and participates in workshops, leadership training, and conferences and so on. Elizabeth also enjoys traveling and reading.

Gurdeep Singh

More About Gurdeep Singh

Gurdeep Singh

Tax and VAT Leader, GCC - ,Grant Thornton, based in the UAE.

Bio:

Gurdeep is the Head of Tax and VAT at Grant Thornton, based in the UAE.

With over 23 years of indirect tax experience, specifically relating to value-added tax (VAT), Gurdeep brings a wide spectrum view to businesses of all sizes and industries.

Having spent most of his profession working and lobbying with government bodies, playing an instrumental role in regulatory reform, alongside leading the tax practice of the one of the world's largest corporations he offers imperative solutions for businesses who require VAT readiness and implementation.

More recently, he was leading the VAT implementation initiative for KPMG KSA, where he was the Head of Tax, additionally he has performed the role of ASEAN Regional Tax and VAT Controller for Intel Corporation based in Malaysia covering ASEAN, South Asia and Australasia.

Gurdeep as VAT Controller for Intel Corporation was the only specialist on VAT/GST implementation in a USD$4.5b operation for several companies in an organisation employing 9,000 staff in Malaysia and including a Shared Service Centre with 300 finance professionals. He supervised a VAT/GST steering team of over 30 staff from different divisions within the Intel’s operations in Malaysia.

He was extensively involved with VAT (called Goods and Services Tax (GST) is Singapore) implementation for clients when it was introduced in Singapore in 1994. Gurdeep successfully engaged various Revenue authorities in VAT/GST controversy including successfully obtaining a multi-million dollar VAT/GST settlement for a US based MNC in Singapore.

In 2007-2008, his involvement was instrumental in the VAT/GST implementation process within the United Arab Emirates. He advised clients on the varying impact VAT/GST would have on different industry sectors including Real Estate, Financial Services. Medical Services, Education, Hospitality, Property, Developers and Manufacturing.

Over the years, he has advised in a variety of industries in the Middle East, including: financial services, petroleum (downstream), manufacturing, defense contractors, professional services, the retail industry, technology, hospitality, commodities, construction and service contracting, real estate, joint ventures, etc.

Gurdeep is a regular presenter on Taxation, having recently been positioned as the keynote speaker on Malaysian VAT/GST implementation challenges at the Euro-money Tax Conference in Singapore.

Professional qualifications

Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA)

Bachelor of Laws (Hons)

Master of Laws, King’s College, London

Industry roles held

Member of the Penang Free Zone VAT/GST lobby group

Representations to the Ministry of Finance

Representations to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department for special dispensations for VAT/GST compliance.

More About Ahmed Aly Shaban

Ahmed Aly Shaban

Senior Consultant ,in Prime Minister's Office of UAE

Bio:

Ahmed Aly Shaban is a Senior Consultant in Prime Minister's Office of UAE.

Ahmed currently is PhD candidate in IBS-UTM (International Business School - Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) and holds MBA degree from the University of Atlanta in USA and Bachelor’s Degree in Communications Engineering from Cairo University of Egypt.

His PhD thesis is Data Driven Customer Experience and the Road Map to deliver Happiness

Ahmed has over 15 years of professional experience in Service development, Service delivery, Research & Consultancy, Excellence and Organizational development in both government and private sector corporations, where he led different related initiatives in Western Region Municipality, Emirates ID Authority, Dubai Health Authority.

In addition to his extensive experience in one of the leading Research and studies firms in Customer satisfaction measurements (MENA Gov. Champion)

HUSSAIN AFKAR

More About HUSSAIN AFKAR

HUSSAIN AFKAR

DIRECTOR – AUDIT & ADVISORY,AXIS AUDITING & ACCOUNTING

Bio:

Chartered Accountant, Certified Practicing Accountant, Certified Management Accountant and Master of Business Administration from Washington University, (USA) with multifaceted experience over 25 years including big four Accountancy Practices, Multi-National Companies, Local and International NGOs in many senior management positions; covering Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Norway and Sweden. Mr. Afkar has also advised many Senior Management and Board of Directors matters related to Accounts, Finance, Taxation, Auditing, Legal etc.

Presently he is a board member of Sri Lankan Business Council in Dubai and ExCom member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, UAE chapter.

Talal AlBakr

More About Talal AlBakr

Talal AlBakr

Talal AlBakr has been working in the IT field for the last 17 years to help customers realize their vision to deliver on business requirements, and has a unique focus on delivering solutions around big data and cloud computing.

He has been working as a Deputy General Manager in Huawei Saudi Arabia and before that as the Public sector and oil and gas director for DellEMC and Regional Sales Manager for Fujitsu Technology Solutions.

Talal comes from a hands on technical background and he understand customer pain points and how to utilize cutting edge technology to deliver business growth. He held the role of storage and backup manager for Mobily, centralized storage and storage area network, backup, and disaster recovery Manager in STC and Software support Speclist in SBM.

His unique perspective on issues has helped transform customer operations and enhance their strategic outlooks by enabling IT to support business growth.

Moaz Moqbel

More About Moaz Moqbel

Moaz Moqbel

E-Content Manager, Ministryof Culture and Media - KSA

Bio:

Joe Clabby

More About Joe Clabby

Joe Clabby

Vice President,CLABBY ANALYTICS USA & Datamatix International Advisor

Bio:
Noted for his research/analysis and public speaking abilities, Joe Clabby, former President, Bloor Research North America, and Vice President, Aberdeen Group, has written dozens of specialized analytical reports on computer technology vendors as well as spoken around-the-world on evolving computing trends. Mr. Clabby has a strong background in networking, systems platforms, operating environments, business application reengineering, as well as program-to-program communications.

More About Ali Al Kamali

Ali Al Kamali

Managing Director ,Datamatixgroup

Bio:

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere thanks to you for accepting our speaking invitation and to join the event, we are sure that the audience will be pleased to benefit from your great experiences and the best practices and knowledge about the latest technological trends and over all strategies on smart cities and smart government and to know your views and vision on the journey towards successful implementation of the transformational strategies. We are affirmed that your invaluable outlook will go a long way in imparting fresh ideas and analyses to the event audience composed of regional and global audience.

On this great occasion and to make your participation a great success, we are sharing with you some of our suggestions based on the past events which will certainly help you to showcase your ideas in a more interactive manner. With anaim to make your presentation result oriented, intelligible, productive and praiseworthy, we would like to suggest the following points:

Build your presentation on the basis of the event Vision, Mission, and Target

Being confident and keeping intact the audiences’ focus and be impressive and expressive

The presentations must be hard-hitting, corresponding to the point and focused

The presentations must avoid any basic information since all attendees are seniors

The material/ppt slide has to be designed and formatted appropriately for the audience

The presentation refers and relates to the 'big picture' and avoids distraction

Facilitate follow-up questions from the audience and make your presentation audience-interactive

Need to make sure that the language he/she uses is comprehensive, professional, and with a steady voice throw ability

The PPT. and papers submitted must be the latest and updated

Hope to see you soon and please do not hesitate to call us for any support.

Datamatix eagerly announces and welcomes the submission of 'Presentation Papers' and other case study abstracts to be presented during the conference sessions from various academic and professionally expert and renowned regional and global speakers representing prominent departments like; Modern Management and Leadership, IT and e-Government, Information and Communication Technology, Digital Archives, Customer Care Services, Education and Knowledge Management, Sports, Stock Market, Media and Public Relations etc… that is scientifically and systematically drafted for improving the efficiency of the employees, and developing the regional government and business organizations in accordance with the visions and objectives of the region.

Kindly ensure that you submit your abstracts and papers to our organizing committee at the earliest to enable the committee to make appropriate arrangements for the proper functioning and scheduling of the event.

Abstract submission and criteria guidelines :

The papers must be submitted 60 days prior to the event

A brief profile regarding the experience and technical knowledge of the speaker must be provided along with the abstract

A brief summary of the subject must be provided along with the paper

The papers submitted must be authentic and new, and not previously presented during any earlier conference

Proposals and suggestions are welcome

A summary of the key points of the presentation must be provided

Evaluation of the paper will be carried out within one week of the submission

The speakers will be notified within two weeks of the submission

Presentation slide sets will need to be provided in current versions of MS PowerPoint (PPT) or Adobe Acrobat (PDF)

Audit points for Speakers Presentations :

In the pursuit to make the event a great success and your speech exciting and to send the participants back to their organizations with good experience, we really appreciate the session to be on time and avoid any basic or repeated subjects or topics in the presentation.

Further guidelines to consider when preparing and presenting your presentation:-

The presentation must be submitted 7 days prior to the event

Make your presentation substantive, not commercial. Limit the use of company/product names. Focus on technical content pertaining to the session topic.

Avoid graphics/pictures and contents that add no useful information.

Do not include copyrighted material in presentations to ensure originality of the subject matter.

Make sure you can keep the documented session within the assigned time limit.

Please ensure that while presenting different topics in a presentation there should be a unifying link i.e. the talk should be sequential in nature.

Include questions in your presentation, which should be asked at regular intervals to engage the audience.

Please try and keep data in visualized form as case studies with pretty charts and graphs which would hold participants attention.

The presentation should pertain to the topic of the session.

The presentation should be clear, concise and relevant.

A summary of the key points of the presentation must be provided.

Presentation slide sets will need to be provided in current versions of MS PowerPoint (PPT) or Adobe Acrobat (PDF).

For any further info, please contact us at:

We thank you for your valuable participation and contributions that you have extended towards the success of GCC Smart Government and Smart Cities Conference. GCC Smart Government and Smart Cities Conference 2017 was a great success and your contribution was very significant and helped us in achieving our goal and this was possible because of your continued support and we look forward to have your support and hope to see you all again in our upcoming events.

Datamatix with much privilege presents the, ‘24th GCC Smart Government and Smart Cities Conference’, which will be held from 05th to 09th May 2018 in Dubai, UAE.

Marking 24 years of successfully organizing, the global government leaders gathering to discuss the next version of the sGovernment strategies, this international conference is in continuation of previous successful conferences and is considered as one of the largest global sGovernment events ever. The Conference would be a unified platform, bringing together global leaders, visionaries, and researchers, including government and business organizations, sponsors, global experts, speakers, regional and international media portals, to discuss the next version of the sGovernment strategies, and share best practices on institutional transformation leadership, corporate governance strategies and strategic planning for organizational performance and sGovernment services.

In conjunction with the Conference, the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute would honor the winners of the “23rd Middle East Smart Government and Smart Cities Excellence Awards”, which will be held on 09th May 2018 for their outstanding achievements and initiatives.

On this great occasion, we would like to invite you to suggest speakers who you think you would like to hear at the event and also what topic you would like to hear about as a "Keynote" at the 24th GCC Smart Government and Smart Cities Conference in Dubai, UAE.

All contents, such as text, graphics, logos, button icons, egov_images, audio clips, and software are under the copyrights of GCC Smart Government and are protected by international copyright laws. Also, the methodology, terminology, models, explanations and case studies presented are the proprietary with copyrights and all rights reserved for GCC Smart Government. Reproduction / Copying / Using of the contents by any means without written consent is strictly prohibited for any party under any circumstances and GCC Smart Government reserves the right to take any legal action according to the rules and regulations.